A Dublin man who lost five and a half stone so he could help his brother’s charity work in Chernobyl is now on a gruelling 4,000km cycle under the searing Australian sun.Andy Kenny (29), from Cabra, began the unimaginable trek across the length of Oz from Perth to Sydney for the County Clare-based Burren Chernobyl Project Co Clare on April 5 and is not due to finish until May 16. Andy weighed a mammoth 17.5 stone until a chance meeting while backpacking Down Under motivated the incredible 5.5 stone weight loss in less than a year and inspired his amazing Aussie cycle challenge.
“I was in a hostel when this fellah came in, stinking of sweat,” Andy told the Northside People newspaper in Dublin. “He said he’d just cycled from Perth to Sydney, which was hardly believable for a person like me, who at the time could hardly walk a flight of stairs. I went home to Dublin, lost the weight, quit my job in HR, and became a qualified personal trainer. My brother, Hugh, is a plasterer and does voluntary work in orphanages in Chernobyl. His stories are heartbreaking and I decided I wanted to help.”
Andy has already raised e9,500 for children in Chernobyl by doing three hours advanced spinning – extreme indoor gym cycling based on a Tour de France course – for the charity. And he believes that even in these recessionary times, people can still make a difference to people in Chernobyl who are living a life most of can’t imagine.
Chernobyl in Belarus was devastated by a nuclear accident back 1986 which resulted in the evacuation and resettlement of over 336,000 people. No official records exist but it’s believed thousands died from cancer caused by radiation. Donations – which will go directly to the charity because Andy is funding the mission himself – can be made on his pedalpowered.ie website.
